Are you not impressed by you expensive smart trainer? Kickr v5

[3Pio]

Does anyone like how drastic grade changes feel on Zwift?

-Sent from Tempis Fugit

Well, I wouldnt mind an eased into gradient like in real life.. I mean, unless you didnt know the road, when was the last time you climbed a hill, going into it with some speed and then all of a sudden the crank gets stuck in the mud

But in all seriousness... I expected more (not real life, but close).. I actually felt diminished like I actually suck more than I do

Im returning this to REI today.. Ill look into a another Direct drive when I can get one for around $600.. At that price Ill complain less when I have to ride indoors for 3-4 months wishing I was outside..

I just finished Stelvio Climb on Rouvy (20 km, 1448m climb) on my DiretoX. Actually it was not that bad feeling.. BTW, i also try to ride as much as possible outside and using Indoor trainer only if really terrible weather or if im too busy (like im this period )

My friend has smaller Suito, and seem satisfied from it.. Even i can see on the net less complaining for Suito than Direto.. So maybe u should check this model...

[FrederickVCyclestein]

I think most of the issues on trainer feel come down to the physics of how they simulate the load. Most smart trainers have a fixed inertia regardless of rider weight and can only increase or decrease the braking force on the flywheel through a limited range. To actually simulate hills and momentum properly the flywheel or drive ratio would have to be tuned to the rider's weight and the braking force would need to be supplied with a motor/generator in order to smoothly simulate both increasing load (drag/uphill) and negative load (downhill).

[gSporco]

I just finished Stelvio Climb on Rouvy (20 km, 1448m climb) on my DiretoX. Actually it was not that bad feeling.. BTW, i also try to ride as much as possible outside and using Indoor trainer only if really terrible weather or if im too busy (like im this period )

My friend has smaller Suito, and seem satisfied from it.. Even i can see on the net less complaining for Suito than Direto.. So maybe u should check this model...

Yeah Ive seen the Suito for $759 online.. Dont know much about it, but Ill look into it..


Funny thing, while I was returning my Kickr today, the cashier said i was the 3rd person since Thursday who have returned Wahoo products.. Unrelated to why I was returning it, but the other 2 had immediate failures after one use (a Kickr Bike and a Kickr Core) I guess the Covid rush may have not prioritized quality control in order to fulfill tons of orders.. My Kickr was even missing the QR adapter (luckily I only needed Thru Axle)..

Anyway, I guess Ill do some more soul searching and reading up on trainers.. but in the meantime Ill keep using the road machine smart trainer..

[warthog101]

Still haven't got my kickr core out of the box office it arrived in about 6 weeks back.
Hate trainer work.
Hopefully changing to an on call work location soon. It is trainer work or no riding.
If you don't need to ride the trainer fark it off and spend the money on something enjoyable.

[LouisN]

I always used the cheapest dumb trainer till I bought an InsideRide E-motion (rollers).
I've been exclusively using it the last 4 years.
Last month we (pressure from the daughters who wanted a supposedly essential Zwift tool) bought a Saris H3 direct drive trainer.
I tried it for 3 or 4 Zwift sessions, with different setups: erg mode on custom workouts, adjusted the difficulty from 15% to 60% on different courses to get the most "natural" road feel.
Bottom line: I like the "type" of ride it gives to the legs. I never get that type of power "graph" from my dumb Insideride.
BUt.
I don't like the feel of the fixed trainer.
I've been off it and back to my old faithful rollers, for every type of workouts and also events.
I will go back on the H3 for specific workouts though: Tests, TT mode workouts, Short Max power Interval workouts.

Just my (very short) experience.

LOuis

[IvanZg]

I've done some 1300km on Suito and it’s similar feeling to what you've described. Any sudden change of gradient (regardless how quick I go) feels like hitting a wall. The only thing that makes it feel better and more realistic is lowering trainer difficulty. (30% in my case) Also when you spin at low rpm with low flywheel speed resistance feels like riding through wet concrete. Feels ok when riding at higher flywheel speed.

[gSporco]

I've done some 1300km on Suito and it’s similar feeling to what you've described. Any sudden change of gradient (regardless how quick I go) feels like hitting a wall. The only thing that makes it feel better and more realistic is lowering trainer difficulty. (30% in my case) Also when you spin at low rpm with low flywheel speed resistance feels like riding through wet concrete. Feels ok when riding at higher flywheel speed.

I think you hit on something with the cadence. Naturally, I am lower cadence cyclist. I prefer 70-72, that where I feel most comfortable. I do notice the trainer tends to get tougher below 65 especially up hill. If I hammer it up to 85, it seems to back off a bit. I figured the flywheel weight would help, but my Kinetic with a 10lb flywheel does the same as the kickr with its heavier flywheel

[jekyll man]

There's a thread on slowtwitch regarding a recent wahoo update that seems to have screwed up feel and resistance for some users.
Not saying it's related but could be

[TheRich]

Does anyone like how drastic grade changes feel on Zwift?

-Sent from Tempis Fugit

Well, I wouldnt mind an eased into gradient like in real life.. I mean, unless you didnt know the road, when was the last time you climbed a hill, going into it with some speed and then all of a sudden the crank gets stuck in the mud

But in all seriousness... I expected more (not real life, but close).. I actually felt diminished like I actually suck more than I do

Im returning this to REI today.. Ill look into a another Direct drive when I can get one for around $600.. At that price Ill complain less when I have to ride indoors for 3-4 months wishing I was outside..

More like wandering around with a blindfold, honestly. The visual cues just don't work for me.

But the good thing about Zwift is that you don't have to deal with it if you don't want to because there are flat options like Tempis Fugit. It doesn't impress your friends on Strava but it's a totally adequate indoor pedaling experience. I'd love a gigantic ridiculous video-game velodrome.